IELTS Reading Passages with Answers and Explanations
Browse IELTS reading passages with full answer keys, per-question explanations, and exam-style practice links.
- Antarctic research
New Zealand’s contribution to International Polar Year was a 52-day voyage by the ship *Tangaroa* in order to conduct research in Antarctica’s Ross Sea. Lead scientist Mary Livingston emphasises just what a multi-face...
- The Impact of the Potato
The potato was first cultivated in South America between three and seven thousand years ago, though scientists believe they may have grown wild in the region as long as 13,000 years ago. The genetic patterns of potato...
- The Fruit Book
*It’s not every scientist who writes books for people who can’t read. And how many scientists want their books to look as dog-eared as possible? But Patricia Shanley, an ethnobotanist, wanted to give something back. A...
- The Placebo Effect
Want to devise a new form of alternative medical treatment? No problem. Here’s the recipe. As a practitioner, be warm, sympathetic, reassuring and enthusiastic. Your treatment should involve physical contact, and each...
- Western Immigration of Canada
By the mid-1870s Canada wanted an immigrant population of agricultural settlers established in the West. No urban centres existed on the prairies in the 1870s, and rural settlement was the focus of the federal governm...
- The history of the picnic
Picnics became popular in France in the 18th century. A favourite pastime of the upper classes, they were initially purely indoor affairs, held at home or in hired rooms. It was assumed that invited guests would contr...
- The Pixar Story
Between 2000 and 2005, under former Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Michael D. Eisner, Walt Disney Company set its shareholder meetings in a series of cold-weather cities during cold-weather months. Many suspected that...
- Biology of Bitterness
There is a reason why grapefruit juice is served in little glasses: most people don’t want to drink more than a few ounces at a time. Naringin, a natural chemical compound found in grapefruit, tastes bitter. Some peop...
- Inside the mind of a fan
At about the same time that the poet Homer invented the epic hero, the ancient Greeks started a festival in which men competed in a single race, about 200 metres long. The winner received a branch of wild olives. The...
- Stress Less
How busy is too busy? For some it means sometimes having to have a short lunch; for others it may mean missing lunch altogether. For a few, it is not being able to take a day off once a month. Then there is a group of...
- Science in the kitchen
There is a recent movement in the world of food, in which chefs are collaborating with scientists to teach themselves the chemistry and physics of cuisine. Even academics are getting excited about the results. Colin O...
- Understanding symbols
About 20 years ago I had one of those wonderful moments when research takes an unexpected but fruitful turn. I had been studying toddler memory and was beginning a new experiment with two-and-a-half- and three-year-ol...
- Creating a Better Grapefruit
There is a reason why grapefruit juice is served in little glasses. Most people don't want to drink more than a few ounces at a time. This is because a natural chemical compound found in grapefruit, naringin, has a bi...
- Farmers
The chain of stores known as Farmers began one hundred years ago as a mail order company. Today the Farmers chain employs 3,500 staff across 58 branches making it the most venerable institution of its type in New Zeal...
- The women scientists of Bologna
The 18th century was a time of logic and experimentation and many of the sciences had their beginnings at that time. But throughout most of Europe, these studies were reserved exclusively for men. Few options were ava...
- Steam across the water
During the 1600s, very early in the development of steam engines, inventive spirits like the Frenchman Denis Papin dreamed of – and experimented with – boats driven by steam, rather than by the wind or human effort, b...
- The dingo debate
A plane flies a slow pattern over Carlton Hill station, a 3,600 square kilometre ranch in the Kimberley region in northwest Australia. As the plane circles, those aboard drop 1,000 small pieces of meat, one by one, on...
- Candles
One of the earliest forms of portable illumination, candles have served vital functions for humankind throughout history, a fact chronicled through the use of candles or candle-like objects in virtually every society....
- Ideal Homes
The traditional kampung houses of Malaysia do not need air-conditioning. Built on stilts and with steep roofs, they have year-round ventilation. The raised structure ensures a cooling breeze comes up through the floor...
- The fluoridation controversy
Fluoridation is the addition of fluorine to public water supplies with the aim of reducing tooth decay. The fluorine, when mixed with water, becomes fluoride and the desired concentration of fluoride in public water i...
- A study of introvert and extrovert characters
We are often labelled as introverts or extroverts, and humans do seem to have biological propensities to behave in certain ways; some of us are naturally more talkative and sociable while others prefer more time alone...
- Optimism and Health
Medical studies are concluding that optimists really do have something to be cheerful about. Coincidental links between optimism and improved general health have been found by researchers. Recently, a Yale University...
- Playing with science
The connection between science and play is not often discussed, perhaps because scientists take it for granted, or because they are a little self-conscious about it and therefore try to hide it. In this context, play...
- Computer Games for Preschoolers: Nintendo's Research and Design Process
Designing video games for the youngest consumers is a difficult task for producers, who historically have focused on more "hard core" game fans. This article describes the research and design process involved in creat...
- A mechanical friend for children
The development of robots that interact socially with people and assist them in everyday life has been an elusive goal of modern science. Despite impressive advances in the mechanical aspects of this problem, producin...
- Game theory
According to game theory, our chances of success in negotiations are based on the choices of others. Computer models have been developed to work out how events will unfold as people and organisations act in what they...
- Conformity
During your childhood, there will have been some kind of craze which affected all the people in your school. It may have been to do with a particular toy or possibly a must-have item of clothing. It may have been some...
- Chilli Peppers
For thousands of years, humans have taken painful pleasure from adding chillies (also known as peppers or chilli peppers) to their food. A study published in the British Medical Journal in 2015 indicated that a diet f...
- The return of the black-footed ferret
The black-footed ferret (*Mustela nigripes*) is a small carnivorous mammal, similar in length to a domestic cat, and is the only ferret species native to North America. For at least 100,000 years they lived in an area...
- Linguistic diversity
More than half of the world's languages are at risk, but an unlikely saviour is at hand. What is an endangered language? As a rough guide, any language with fewer than 10,000 speakers is in danger. However, the total...